As we go further into the subject of “Digital Nation” and how technology is affecting us, I can’t help but the think of the advances in ebooks and eReaders. Ebooks have been around for much longer than many people think. When ebooks and eReaders were introduced in the late 1900s, business people were targeted and not the everyday consumer. It was not until recently, with E ink technology that has made the screen look like paper and the making of Kindle, Sony eReader, Nook, and iPad, ebooks have not been as known.

I didn’t know about ebooks and eReaders until my friend asked me if I heard about the Kindle. I hadn’t but I was interested so I went on the Amazon website and read about it. After seeing an introductory video and seeing the fact that it can hold up to 1500 books and how thin and portable it is, I definitely interested. Not only was I interested in the Kindle, I wanted to see what other devices there were and how they were different. Long story short, I waited a while to see if any new devices would come out. They did and I bought the Nook. I’ve had it for 7 months now and it is great. The fact that I don’t have to drive to buy a book, I have a whole library condensed in one device, and I can even put my own documents in it makes it super convenient. The pages actually look printed and it’s very easy to use.

What can this old but new technology offer us? I think that libraries could become totally digitalized. If eReaders become as popular as the computer, cell phone, and digital camera is now. It would make rare books more easily available while saving resources.

Another thing that interests me is the psychological effects of gaming. Are video or computer games an addiction? I feel like it can, considering the evidence. If it is an addiction, how can we solve this?

Gaming is an escape for many people. Using something as an escape is not new for mankind but games seem to have more dangerous effects. Reading many books or seeing a lot of movies to escape for a while does not seem as harmful. We watched the video about PC 방in South Korea and conventions for games and that caught my attention. Also, where do we cross the line when it comes to addiction? How can we prevent this? My brother likes to play a computer games and so do all his friends, their friends and so many others.

To solve the problem of gaming addiction, we have to prevent it first. I feel that parenting is a big way to prevention. Maybe we should have public service commercials to inform people on the effects of extreme gaming.